An unexpected gem, this war movie is a warm and gentle tale filmed in the stark, cold terror which followed the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It lacks the rah-rah sentiment of many war pictures, but in many delivers a truth larger epics could not.
Though the story is (generally) about a crack-and-polish aristocrat getting his (much-deserved) comeuppance and becoming a better man, it is also a love story.
Walter Brennan plays Chief Yeoman Johnson, a passed-over and long- forgotten relic who spent the majority of his life caring for- and championing- the ship he loved.
To the world at large, the destroyer Warren is a forgotten relic, a rusting has-been best left mouldering in her grave. Johnson alone believes in her, and in the film's climax, she justifies the faith of both Johnson and the new generation recruited to man her.
As a retired USN sailor, I find a verisimilitude in Brennan's performance about the love of a crew for their ship, and in Charles Laughton's performance as a crusty old admiral doing the right things in the most irritating (for his victims) manner possible.
There is greater truth in the crew's reaction to the rescue of a boatload of women and children. People may laugh at the idea of gruff, rough-and-rowdy sailors melting (and getting slightly goofy) over children and babies, but I saw it first hand during Operation Sharp Edge. Yes- grizzled chief petty officers DO actually melt when babies smile.
In an era in which people are jaded by CGI, the special effects are quaint and antiquated, but effective. A great deal of care and attention to detail was paid to the models, and those versed in the ships of the era can make out the (American) vessels by type and class.
Finally, the humor in the movie is top-notch and satisfying with karma and just desserts being served in equal measure.
It lacks the rah-rah sentiment of many war pictures, but in many delivers a truth larger epics could not.
Though the story is (generally) about a crack-and-polish aristocrat getting his (much-deserved) comeuppance and becoming a better man, it is also a love story.
Walter Brennan plays Chief Yeoman Johnson, a passed-over and long- forgotten relic who spent the majority of his life caring for- and championing- the ship he loved.
To the world at large, the destroyer Warren is a forgotten relic, a rusting has-been best left mouldering in her grave. Johnson alone believes in her, and in the film's climax, she justifies the faith of both Johnson and the new generation recruited to man her.
As a retired USN sailor, I find a verisimilitude in Brennan's performance about the love of a crew for their ship, and in Charles Laughton's performance as a crusty old admiral doing the right things in the most irritating (for his victims) manner possible.
There is greater truth in the crew's reaction to the rescue of a boatload of women and children. People may laugh at the idea of gruff, rough-and-rowdy sailors melting (and getting slightly goofy) over children and babies, but I saw it first hand during Operation Sharp Edge. Yes- grizzled chief petty officers DO actually melt when babies smile.
In an era in which people are jaded by CGI, the special effects are quaint and antiquated, but effective. A great deal of care and attention to detail was paid to the models, and those versed in the ships of the era can make out the (American) vessels by type and class.
Finally, the humor in the movie is top-notch and satisfying with karma and just desserts being served in equal measure.